Through an adaptive reuse project, the Asian Art Museum recently relocated to San Francisco’s former Main Library, a 1917 Beaux Arts-style building known as one of the city’s most important historic structures. The new $160.5 million facility — designed by internationally renowned Italian architect Gae Aulenti — allows the museum to better protect and exhibit one of the largest collections devoted to Asian art, including nearly 15,000 pieces spanning 6,000 years of Asian history.
Nancy Kirkpatrick, director of museum services, explained that because of the historic nature of the building, there was nowhere to gain additional space for collection storage. Expanding or changing the exterior look or footprint of the building was not an option. “Considering the building’s size limitations, we knew that we had to use compact storage to give us the capacity we needed,” she said. “We wanted to work with a company that could customize a solution to store our unique artifacts.”
The new storage solutions provided by Spacesaver and Delta Designs, Ltd. were carefully tested and chemically analyzed to ensure safe preservation and storage compatibility.
Storage solutions include compact art racks for framed art pieces, rolled textile storage racks, stationary pallet racks for large statues, specialized cabinets for screen paintings and more than 200 environmentally controlled cabinets on high-density mobile systems for a range of artifact storage – some including drawers for small items. Spacesaver also developed a unique work surface solution to provide an expansive, angled shelf surface for easy viewing of large, flat or rolled pieces of art.
Collection storage includes:
“We’ve greatly increased our capacity and the collection is so much safer now,” explained Kirkpatrick.
It was important that the renovated building and preservation areas be seismically sound. Engineers designed a base isolation system to stabilize the entire foundation of the building. The mobile art storage systems feature vibration dampening systems and seismic safety stabilizers to prevent tipping.
The cabinets also provide protection through completely controlled storage environments that help to maintain a constant level of humidity and temperature. The silicone seals also provide an airtight storage environment that minimizes artifact exposure to dust, insects, and particulates.
“We are completely delighted with the Spacesaver solutions throughout our facility.” Kirkpatrick said. “They were there totally involved in the entire process. Everything was taken care of and it went seamlessly.”
